@jensou@runningisrad I do recall such discussion, and a popular one was Wunderlist. I downloaded the app - looks great, but still waiting on DH. There are also bra clips to indicate sides. We're primitive and just using text messaging; these are what are texts currently look like:
Luckily I live in an area with great amenities (within an 8m radius, BRU, BBB, 2 Targets, Whole Foods, Carter's, Costco, etcetera). I managed to pop in to Carter's the other day to pick up a preemie outfit for LO since she's hovering around 7lbs and everything NB she owns is still quite loose. She did arrive three weeks early, so I get an extra three weeks with her (going back to work in January). I am hoping she gains some weight soon; we have our first pediatrician appointment on Wednesday, yay.
Oh nice! I actually use Wunderlist at work for my work tasks!
*************************************** FORMER USERNAME:@runningisrad
I used an app called "first year" with my son and will use it again. It makes it really, really easy to track feedings, wet dipes, dirty dipes, sleep times, etc. and it's cute!
I know deep in some thread there was discussion about baby apps. I've been having a hard time keeping track and since Victoria was right at the cutoff for low weight for gestational age (wga) and dad is Asian so increased risk for hyperbilirubin they have us keep coming in for weight checks. At these checks, the Drs ask how much she pees, poops, and eats. How much time does she spend nursing, etc. it's not quite the Inquisition but feels bad to say "ummmm I don't know how many times she peed today" like I'm not being cautious or caring enough about Victoria.
so we started looking in to baby apps but none we saw had really good reviews. We're using Eat Sleep right now but IMO has a lot to be desired. Would anyone be interested in a thread on this? I think the prevailing thought in that previous discussion was to use your wedding ring to let you know last side (love that!) and that the apps weren't necessary. But for me, if I didn't have the app, I'd be taking a pad of paper and pen w me wherever we go. Curious to know what other mommas think
What's this risk about a parent being Asian? My babies donor is Asian and the docs didn't say anything concerning unless I would have been Asian.
@jensou my son lost a lot after birth (down to 5lbs, 8oz) and had jaundice, too. So we were going in every few days for weight checks. It was so stressful. Now he's 60% for weight!
Anyhow, we used Feed Baby, and I still like going back to see what he weighed when. It wasn't amazing, but did the trick. Also, we ordered a baby scale from Amazon. It was maybe $40. My data-driven husband thought of it, and we ended up using it a ton. But it was super helpful in the beginning when weight was an issue.
I've been having a hard time keeping track and since Victoria was right at the cutoff for low weight for gestational age (wga) and dad is Asian so increased risk for hyperbilirubin
What's this risk about a parent being Asian? My babies donor is Asian and the docs didn't say anything concerning unless I would have been Asian.
My husband is Chinese. I honestly don't remember if they said Chinese descent or Asian descent. But the rationale was that babies are predisposed to hyperbilirubinemia AKA jaundice due to metabolic processing being a little different. My husband is also one of those guys who can't drink alcohol without getting really red in the face and then practically passing out. Half a beer or hard cider and he's toast! He can't break down the alcohol
you shouldn't need to worry about anything - our Victoria has remained in the safe zone on her Bili screens so far. They use a little tool on the skin that measures accumulated bilirubin. It doesn't hurt at all. That value is plotted on a chart based on hours of life. There are three curves; high, medium, and low risk. Your risk category depends most on babies gestational age at birth (Tori was 37) and we were in the middle curve. She's been below so far but definitely had some days where she looked more golden in her face and chest.
If the skin tool gives a value at or above curve, since it's just a "screen," they draw some blood (I'm pretty sure it's a heel stick?) and you wait to see the official value. If Bili values are concerning, UV light therapy begins.
the Drs recommended to me to sit in a sunny room with baby in the morning and even though lights filtered through the window, it should help.
I know you asked about Asian descent and not a big story about bilirubin testing. Sorry!
This babies donor is chinese. I know how all that goes as with my first we actually had lights at home (both other kids are Latino mix which have the same issue).
This babies donor is chinese. I know how all that goes as with my first we actually had lights at home (both other kids are Latino mix which have the same issue).
@jensou@asht Yup, apparently it's quite common with East Asians (according to our nurse friends). We were initially traumatized when given the jaundice diagnosis during baby's first appointment (at three days old). We had to use the biliblanket at home from Sunday night through her Wednesday morning appointment and the bilirubin went down enough such that treatment was no longer necessary. I've heard that it can return though.
My annoyance for the day - I had RLS prior to this pregnancy but hadn't had problems for quite a while. In 3rd trimester, it flared up and the only things that helped were walking around (which hurt like hell) or taking a hot bath (imagine our water bill.....). Two weeks PP and there's no end in sight. It's just as bad now as it was in 3rd tri and it's driving me crazy!
My upset for the day - I think Jo is on the same path that her big sister was on at birth. Elleanore was hospitalized at 3 weeks old for not gaining weight and diagnosed with GERD. At 3 weeks, she was on Nutramigen formula with rice cereal added in.
Oliver and Jo had their 2 week well-check today. Oliver is only 3 oz shy of his birth weight. Jo is 9 oz shy. She was 7 lbs. 11 oz. at birth, dipped to 7.4 at discharge, 6.15 at one week and is only up to 7.2 today. We've tried the Nutramigen. We've done half formula, half breast milk. We've done full on breast milk (not easy and I don't know that I could keep that up for long unfortunately). But yet she's spitting up like crazy. Last night she projectile vomited when I turned her around from my shoulder. So now we get to try an acid reflux medication each day to see if it helps. I just feel so bad for her. It can't be fun spitting up all the time.
Does anyone know the average length of how long after a vaginal delivery you bleed? I'm basically just spotting at this point but twice now, once a few days ago and again last night, a huge gush of blood came out all at once and filled an entire pad both times. Im 10 days pp today. I asked a nurse at my OBs office and she told me to monitor for another day and call of it happens again. Just don't remember this happening with my first...
@izzetoot My OB told me to expect up to 4 weeks, but that it should be very light by about 2 weeks. Also, (TW) after a D&C for a MC, that was about how long I had bleeding, although I'm not positive how direct that correlation is.
@izzetoot at 9d PP and my bleeding comes and goes too. Definitely feel it's correlated to my activity. I feel like I have mommy diaper rash from wearing a pad nonstop. I've done sitz baths when I can and keep clean as possible. I think the pads just aren't breatheable.
Embarrassing moment; I tucked a witch hazel pad up on my bottom bc I'm so sore. It was extra wet I guess because there are only a few other pads in the tub. I got up later from feeding baby and noticed a wet spot on the rocker. Then felt my jeans - they were wet. I started to freak that I was incontinent and didn't even know it! Then it dawned on me - the pad!
@UnwritteN12 I hope Miss Jo's tummy troubles get straightened out soon
@izzetoot Agree with everyone else. Bleeding has been fairly light after the first week, and may be just slightly heavier with increased activity.
@jensou O M G, thank you! I actually realized that the pads may be exacerbating my hemorrhoids and started using them higher up in the underwear so my butt area gets more "air". A discharge OB/doctor said to put diaper rash cream (Desitin) on my rear, so that coupled with the sitz bath has really helped eliminate the itching. I received a sample of the Desitin at BBB, and won't use it on LO, so it's perfect for me!
Also, since I have to change the pads every time I pee, I'm going through them really quickly. I'm thinking of reverting back to regular Always pads in lieu of the Infinity line since they're cheaper. What kind are you all using??
@UnwritteN12 - Emmett had silent reflux.. so never actually spit up (or very rarely) but was constantly uncomfortable/grunty/sounded congested, etc. We ended up putting him on ranitidine after a couple months and it really helped him. Not sure what Jo is going to use, but just remember that the relfux meds won't necessarily stop the spitting up but will decrease the amount of acid so it will decrease the symptoms/burning of the contents if they do come back up. It starts working pretty quick, but works better as it's used daily by about a week or so should see a huge change (E was markedly better within 4 days or so). Also, if it's ranitidine, it is weight-based, so as she gains weight you'll want to have her dose adjusted.. we could tell when we needed dose increases as he'd be really uncomfortable after feeds again.
@frogdog06 I can back and forth between the Target brand of poise bc they are thick and add some cushion for the soreness and Always overnight which are way thinner but also longer so cover the bum area. Neither very expensive though.
@frogdog06 it's funny you ask about the pads bc I was going to ask the board too! I'm burning through them. I actually thought I might take some of the microfiber diaper liners Victoria hasn't grown in to yet and just hand wash them. Basically anything to air out my bottom. Is this what babies feel like when they have diaper rash???
We had our weight check / bili check today. Bili is under 12 which was good but she's only gained 2oz since birth. Sadly she peed all over the scale and we had to redo the weight. I wanted that to count!
The Dr told me she wants me to feed baby for 10-15 min each side every TWO HOURS. I asked about night time. She told me to set an alarm. Like I wasn't sleep deprived enough. And my BP is 130s/90s still so have to go back for a repeat next week. So frustrating
@jensou -- I had to do the every two hours around the clock thing with my son. It was rough because, at least for us, the two hours between started when I *started* to feed him, not when I finished. But we didn't have to do it for too too terribly long and he gained quickly when we did it. I hope it goes equally well for you guys!
@jensou Hang in there with the sleep deprivation! It'll all be worth it when you see your LO gaining nicely. Happy to hear her bili is okay! Fin had issues with it as well so I know how frustrating it can be. I was ELATED when his levels were finally okay and we didn't have to do those blood tests so frequently. I too suffered from high blood pressure from the pre-e post partum so I know how you must feel. Hopefully it gets better for you! I finally returned to normal 2 weeks post partum.
HI everyone. Quick question. How many of you were sent home with a prescription for pain? Whether norco, Motrin etc? I wasn't prescribed anything at discharge and I have been using over the counter Motrin but it is NOT cutting it. I'm pretty sore from the epidural and birth, plus the cramps from BF are horrendous. I'm thinking of calling to see if I should get a higher dose of something since the Motrin isn't doing the job. What are you taking to manage pain, if anything?
@Sporty1216 and @mom2adoodle thanks for the encouragement. I was really feeling defeated yesterday. Especially because I thought we were both doing so well.
With this two hour thing, I basically have an hour off between feelings after I burp her and change diaper. She's usually not interested in the other side after 15 min on one side. So it takes even longer to feed because I have to irritate her enough. But if I try taking her off after 10 min she's angry and I am left feeling "full" on that side still. I think she has to work a little to get the flow started. During the day I'll stick to the pump for "priming" my boob and then put her on. But at night; it's dark and I can't see, I'm tired, the fridge is soooo far away (just downstairs but it's a bridge too far).
Hubby to the rescue he fed her a bottle at 2am which gave me a 3-4 hour stretch. I'm going to require a nap today. Fortunately have 3 teen helpers and big siblings really do love doing stuff for her so I know we'll get a ready volunteer on giving her a bottle of expressed milk. Although they say "ew" whenever they see the pump LOL so we'll see how that goes.
@seitzy3 I can't believe they sent you home with nothing to manage pain! With DD, I had two prescriptions - one for 800mg doses of Ibuprofen and another, stronger one that I never needed / filled. I'd definitely call - even if they don't write you a script, they might at least be able to tell you that you can up your Motrin dosage from 2 pills to 4.
Hang in there @jensou! It sounds like you are doing great and I'm glad you got at least once good stretch. Just remember that it won't always be the case that you have to feed her on this schedule! We're rooting for you and for her to start gaining!
@seitzy3 I wasn't sent home with anything either and the next day was in a fair amount of pain. I was getting norco every 4 hours until they discharged me so I don't think I was feeling how much in pain I was until I didn't have it anymore! I called my OB and they gave me a RX for Tylenol 3, which I think is the same as norco but not as strong. I've only needed it a handful of times but happy I called to get it!
@jensou are you heating the bottles or giving her cold milk? If it's cold, I bought a yeti tumbler to keep by my bed side that keeps the milk cold up to 24 hrs. That way I don't have to go to the kitchen. More out of fear of waking my light sleeper 2 year old tho. That's the plan anyway, we haven't given LO a bottle yet.
@seitzy3 Oh my!! I was given an Rx for 600mg of ibuprofen and told to take it with 200mg of OTC tylenol as needed. That, and stool softeners. The ibuprofen really helps, but I do try and pump right before I take it so I have a few hours for it to settle into me and not get into the breastmilk (just in case).
@jensou Hang in there! I hope you're able to catch more zzz's!
@izzetoot it's definitely normal to still be bleeding, but large gushes and soaking a pad sounds worrisome to me. I definitely remember my OB mentioning that I needed to call if those things happened.
@izzetoot that's a really good idea! I'll mention it to my husband for his bottle duty.
I'm having to get up to put the pumped milk away in the fridge. I nurse her and then try to pump off another 1/2 ounce. But at night it's almost too much of an added complication
@AnnaS930 - Thanks for the reassurance. And that's good to know about not stopping the spitting up. The doctor is having us try delayed release oral Nexium. She started it Thursday and I'm already noticing a difference. It marvelous!!
@izzetoot !! Just a tumbler off Amazon? Do you keep the bottle in it? Please advise. Great idea - I've been keeping it on ice packs upstairs through the night, but the condensation gets our nightstands all wet.
I also read elsewhere on this BMB that the pumping flanges can be kept in a ziplock and stored in the fridge to be reused and washed at a later time - that's going to save me so much time in the middle of the night!
@jensou fresh breast milk can also stay at room temp for a few hours. Kellymom says no more than 6 hours, which seems like a long time, but gives you a little bit if you're going to be getting up in a few hours anyway.
Re: THE Postpartum discussion thread
FORMER USERNAME: @runningisrad
Anyhow, we used Feed Baby, and I still like going back to see what he weighed when. It wasn't amazing, but did the trick. Also, we ordered a baby scale from Amazon. It was maybe $40. My data-driven husband thought of it, and we ended up using it a ton. But it was super helpful in the beginning when weight was an issue.
BFP - 01/04/2016; EDD - 09/15/2016 DS #1 - 07/2014
you shouldn't need to worry about anything - our Victoria has remained in the safe zone on her Bili screens so far. They use a little tool on the skin that measures accumulated bilirubin. It doesn't hurt at all. That value is plotted on a chart based on hours of life. There are three curves; high, medium, and low risk. Your risk category depends most on babies gestational age at birth (Tori was 37) and we were in the middle curve. She's been below so far but definitely had some days where she looked more golden in her face and chest.
If the skin tool gives a value at or above curve, since it's just a "screen," they draw some blood (I'm pretty sure it's a heel stick?) and you wait to see the official value. If Bili values are concerning, UV light therapy begins.
the Drs recommended to me to sit in a sunny room with baby in the morning and even though lights filtered through the window, it should help.
I know you asked about Asian descent and not a big story about bilirubin testing. Sorry!
My upset for the day - I think Jo is on the same path that her big sister was on at birth. Elleanore was hospitalized at 3 weeks old for not gaining weight and diagnosed with GERD. At 3 weeks, she was on Nutramigen formula with rice cereal added in.
Oliver and Jo had their 2 week well-check today. Oliver is only 3 oz shy of his birth weight. Jo is 9 oz shy. She was 7 lbs. 11 oz. at birth, dipped to 7.4 at discharge, 6.15 at one week and is only up to 7.2 today. We've tried the Nutramigen. We've done half formula, half breast milk. We've done full on breast milk (not easy and I don't know that I could keep that up for long unfortunately). But yet she's spitting up like crazy. Last night she projectile vomited when I turned her around from my shoulder. So now we get to try an acid reflux medication each day to see if it helps. I just feel so bad for her. It can't be fun spitting up all the time.
Embarrassing moment; I tucked a witch hazel pad up on my bottom bc I'm so sore. It was extra wet I guess because there are only a few other pads in the tub. I got up later from feeding baby and noticed a wet spot on the rocker. Then felt my jeans - they were wet. I started to freak that I was incontinent and didn't even know it! Then it dawned on me - the pad!
@UnwritteN12 I hope Miss Jo's tummy troubles get straightened out soon
@jensou O M G, thank you! I actually realized that the pads may be exacerbating my hemorrhoids and started using them higher up in the underwear so my butt area gets more "air". A discharge OB/doctor said to put diaper rash cream (Desitin) on my rear, so that coupled with the sitz bath has really helped eliminate the itching. I received a sample of the Desitin at BBB, and won't use it on LO, so it's perfect for me!
Also, since I have to change the pads every time I pee, I'm going through them really quickly. I'm thinking of reverting back to regular Always pads in lieu of the Infinity line since they're cheaper. What kind are you all using??
It starts working pretty quick, but works better as it's used daily by about a week or so should see a huge change (E was markedly better within 4 days or so). Also, if it's ranitidine, it is weight-based, so as she gains weight you'll want to have her dose adjusted.. we could tell when we needed dose increases as he'd be really uncomfortable after feeds again.
We had our weight check / bili check today. Bili is under 12 which was good but she's only gained 2oz since birth. Sadly she peed all over the scale and we had to redo the weight. I wanted that to count!
The Dr told me she wants me to feed baby for 10-15 min each side every TWO HOURS. I asked about night time. She told me to set an alarm. Like I wasn't sleep deprived enough. And my BP is 130s/90s still so have to go back for a repeat next week. So frustrating
DD #1 3/26/13
Mo/Mo twins MMC 3/31/14
DD #2 3/31/15
DD #3 8/25/16
With this two hour thing, I basically have an hour off between feelings after I burp her and change diaper. She's usually not interested in the other side after 15 min on one side. So it takes even longer to feed because I have to irritate her enough. But if I try taking her off after 10 min she's angry and I am left feeling "full" on that side still. I think she has to work a little to get the flow started. During the day I'll stick to the pump for "priming" my boob and then put her on. But at night; it's dark and I can't see, I'm tired, the fridge is soooo far away (just downstairs but it's a bridge too far).
Hubby to the rescue he fed her a bottle at 2am which gave me a 3-4 hour stretch. I'm going to require a nap today. Fortunately have 3 teen helpers and big siblings really do love doing stuff for her so I know we'll get a ready volunteer on giving her a bottle of expressed milk. Although they say "ew" whenever they see the pump LOL so we'll see how that goes.
@jensou Hang in there! I hope you're able to catch more zzz's!
BFP - 01/04/2016; EDD - 09/15/2016 DS #1 - 07/2014
I'm having to get up to put the pumped milk away in the fridge. I nurse her and then try to pump off another 1/2 ounce. But at night it's almost too much of an added complication
I also read elsewhere on this BMB that the pumping flanges can be kept in a ziplock and stored in the fridge to be reused and washed at a later time - that's going to save me so much time in the middle of the night!